Homeless
by The Raven and the Fox
Summary: Sasuke had no sympathy for someone who couldn't work hard enough to have shelter and food. If they were slackers, they deserved nothing more than what they earned. But what would he do if the homeless man he passed was his old childhood friend?


**Summary:** Sasuke had no sympathy for someone who couldn't work hard enough to have shelter and food. If they were slackers, they deserved nothing more than what they earned. But what would he do if the homeless man he passed was his old childhood friend?

**Notes:** Currently rated T, but may rise to M later on. The status of Sasuke and Naruto's relationship is still unknown.

This is an incredibly unfinished story that I have no clue what to do with. The inspirational music from the J-drama my parents are watching is pretty distracting, so more on this in the end notes.

* * *

Sasuke pushed aside the blinds, glancing out the window of his office. It was raining quite heavily by now, huge drops thundering down on the pavement, rattling against the cars in the parking lot, occasionally striking his window. It was already dark despite being early evening. Sasuke had never particularly liked this time of year, when autumn was turning to winter and the sun suddenly disappeared much sooner than it used to and you wondered how it had gotten so late. It made him not want to do anything at night. He just wanted to curl up in bed with a book and read until he fell asleep. But there were things to be done – groceries, laundry, installing winter tires for the coming snow. Just because the nights were longer didn't mean he had less time in his day.

He let the blinds swing back, rattling against each other. This report wouldn't get finished today. He saved his progress, shut down his computer, and packed his bag to go home. He donned his raincoat and picked up his umbrella, then took the elevator down.

It was days like this that Sasuke regretted living so close to his workplace. Usually he enjoyed the walk, when it was sunny or even when it was dark and snowy, because he could get some fresh air and physical activity when otherwise he wouldn't and everyone was so eco-obsessed lately. Anyway, traffic in this town could get brutal during rush hour, to the point where he often walked faster than the cars were driving. But he loathed walking in the rain. No matter how big your umbrella was, you would always get wet. He was glad his shoes were waterproof, but more often than not the hems of his pants would be dripping by the time he got home, and the slant of the rain always managed to hit his lower legs anyway. His backpack often ended up damp too. But he'd rather be in his apartment during this downpour than in the office, so he resolved to have a long, warm bath when he got home and set out into the weather.

Traffic was even slower than usual, with the sheet rain reducing visibility to almost nothing. Windshield wipers were on full speed, making up for the lack of speeding buses sending tsunamis onto the curb and Sasuke. He sighed to himself and angled his umbrella against the angle of the rain.

As he continued down the street, he saw a figure sitting curled up on the ground under a bus shelter, wearing a thick coat that was utterly useless against the driving rain and holding a battered Styrofoam cup between two woollen mitts. The figure's head was covered by a large hood, but the state of their clothes and the tattered hiking bag next to them were clear indications that this person hadn't had anywhere to live for a while now. Sasuke glanced away, firmly ignoring the figure. He had no sympathy for someone who couldn't work hard enough to have shelter and food. If they were slackers, they deserved nothing more than what they earned.

The figure coughed as Sasuke passed, holding the Styrofoam cup out. In a hoarse voice he asked, "Spare a little change, sir?"

Sasuke froze dead in his tracks. He stopped and turned back to the figure.

"_Naruto?_"

The figure started, then pushed back his hood. Sasuke's breath caught as icy blue eyes he knew all too well stared back at him, sunken with fatigue and malnourishment, golden hair matted, tan face gaunt. Naruto blinked, then slowly stood up.

"S…Sasuke," Naruto breathed. Then he smiled, his expression brilliant despite cracking, dry lips, and Sasuke felt something inside him spark. It had been years since he'd seen that smile, those eyes.

Naruto sniffed and rubbed his nose. "Fancy seeing you here."

"I could say the same to you," Sasuke replied, incredulous. He ducked under the shelter so he could lower his umbrella, but the rain still slanted down onto his feet. He barely noticed, though, because he was too busy reeling at the sudden appearance of his old high school friend. "How – what happened to you?"

Naruto glanced away. "Long story."

Sasuke waited for the story, but Naruto didn't offer it. This surprised Sasuke – Naruto had always been a blabbermouth. Now that he thought about it, he barely recognized Naruto at all: whereas before he'd been confident, energetic, optimistic, and extroverted, now he seemed to pull into himself, timid even next to Sasuke. Sasuke supposed this was only to be expected. It looked like Naruto had been having it rough lately.

Naruto hesitated. "You… look well," he said, taking in Sasuke's appearance. "Good, stable job? Nice home? How did university work out for you?"

"It – it was great," Sasuke said, a little thrown off by Naruto's change of topic. "I'm in management consulting."

Naruto's face was blank, but he asked, "Do you enjoy it?"

Sasuke shrugged. "I guess so. It's better than anything else I could think of."

"That's good." Naruto looked at him for a moment longer, then his gaze dropped. "It's… good to know you're doing alright."

"…Yeah." Sasuke frowned. This was the part of the conversation where, given normal circumstances, Sasuke would ask and how Naruto was doing, but Naruto seemed reluctant even to admit it despite the fact that he was standing here on the street, evidence of hardships written all over him.

Naruto looked back to Sasuke and managed an utterly happy grin. "Well, it was great to see you," he said cheerfully. "Don't let me keep you standing here in the rain. I might see you around, yeah?"

But Sasuke stood frozen to the spot, staring at Naruto, at his goofy smile. Though it was the one Sasuke was so used to, Naruto's attitude was impossibly bright, like he didn't have a care in the world when clearly he was struggling even to live comfortably. He couldn't understand it. Naruto had never had problems when Sasuke had known him in high school, so what had happened in the years between? What could reduce radiant, lively Naruto to crouching under bus shelters?

"Sasuke? Your clothes are dripping," said Naruto. "You'd better get home before you catch a cold."

Sasuke couldn't stand it anymore. "Me, catch a cold? Look at yourself," he said.

"Oh, I'll be fine," said Naruto brightly. "I'm used to this. I think I've got a perpetual cold anyway, so I'm used to it. I'll probably make it through the winter." He smiled, but there was something hiding behind the boundless optimism – something like fear.

"You're ridiculous," Sasuke scoffed. He raised his umbrella over both their heads. "Come on."

Naruto just continued to smile at him, a politely confused expression on his face. "Hm?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes and put a hand firmly on Naruto's shoulder. "I'd forgotten how much of an idiot you were. Come on, I'm taking you to my place."

Naruto's eyes widened. "What? Oh, no – don't bother! I'll be fine, really, you don't have to—"

"I'm not asking," said Sasuke. "Grab your bag. The rain's getting heavier."

—

The wind also picked up within the few minutes it took them to get home, so despite the umbrella they were both soaked by the time they made it into Sasuke's apartment building. Sasuke wiped wet hair out of his eyes and let them in, and they spent the elevator ride up to his floor dripping in silence. Naruto glanced at the reflective metal of the elevator wall, then at Sasuke, whose soaked hair was plastered to his head. Sasuke glanced back and offered a sheepish smile, and Naruto smirked, then snickered, and soon they were laughing for no particular reason at all. Naruto felt better than he had in ages. He wiped rain and tears of laughter from his eyes, and leaned his arm on Sasuke's shoulder, still chuckling – and then the look in Sasuke's eyes made him falter and pull away. Though the humour was still playing on Sasuke's lips, there was something questioning, something almost nostalgic in his gaze, and Naruto had to look away.

He followed Sasuke silently down the hall and into his apartment. It was small and cosy: there was one larger space for dining and sleeping, plus a small bathroom and a kitchen. It was just the right size for one person, a little too small for two to live permanently. Although it was all very _Sasuke_ – the mahogany picture frames, the simple yet elegant dining table and chairs, the wooden double bed, the practical desk in the corner – Naruto felt utterly at home. It was nothing like his own foster home as a teenager, nothing like his chaotic sense of style, but he was so used to Sasuke's alternative that already he felt like he'd lived here all his life. His heart sent him a fleeting memory of those golden years, and he felt a little sad.

Sasuke took his shoes off at the entrance, forgoing his soft slippers as his socks and feet were soaked. He left his umbrella open in the foyer to dry – he'd never been very superstitious – and found some flip flops for himself and Naruto.

"You can take a shower first if you like," said Sasuke. "Then when I've gone, I'll make us something to eat."

Naruto considered Sasuke carefully, a question in his eyes. And when he met Sasuke's eyes, Sasuke knew they were thinking of the same thing.

"Sasuke," said Naruto slowly, "can we… Like we did years ago. Can we… bathe together?"

Sasuke's immediate answer was no, but he suppressed it to consider the idea. So many years they'd been apart, and so many things changed between them – would it be the same as it had been then?

Naruto's expression fell at Sasuke's hesitation. "Never mind, then," he mumbled, heading for the bathroom. "I'll try not to take too long."

"Wait."

Naruto turned, hopeful.

"It'll save water, right?" said Sasuke.

Naruto had to laugh. "Of all the excuses."

—

Sasuke wasn't sure what to think. Naruto had grown, in these years, becoming taller, filling out his previously awkward frame. But it was hard to tell exactly what was different because lack of nourishment overshadowed any other changes: it was clear that Naruto had been starving, in the cave under his ribs, the hollows of his cheeks, the slimness of his arms and legs. Sasuke remembered a period in which he'd had to convince Naruto that no, he wasn't getting fat, and wondered at the contrast. Sasuke had always appeared unhealthily skinny, despite having an apparent addiction to carbs, but now he'd grown out of that lanky stage and he figured his proportions were more or less alright, if a bit leaner than what most guys considered masculine. The Naruto he'd known had always showed signs that he'd end up stocky and strong, and he was always working out and joining sports teams. What had happened to that Naruto? What had changed for the Naruto standing in his bathroom to be thin enough to slip through the bars of a prison cell?

"Uh, Sasuke?" said Naruto. "The bathtub's getting pretty full."

Sasuke blinked and quickly reached to turn off the tap. Naruto got in, sat down, and heaved a deep sigh of comfort, relaxing visibly. Then he glanced up at Sasuke, who was still clothed. Feeling distinctly self-aware, Sasuke undid the buttons of his shirt and slipped it off, then unfastened his pants and tugged them down with his boxers. He stepped out of his clothes, tossed them into the laundry bin, then joined Naruto in the little tub, their feet unable to help touching.

"You're even better looking than you used to be," said Naruto conversationally, with a small smile. His voice, although quiet, still echoed slightly in the bathroom. "I'd nearly forgotten about that scar. It's pretty faint now. Appendix, right?"

"Mm."

"You missed so much school 'cause of that." Naruto sighed, wrapped his arms around his legs, set his chin on his knees, gazing at Sasuke. "I remember those months. It was so lonely without you."

"Yeah, 'cause I was having it so much better than you," Sasuke scoffed before he could stop himself. He regretted it immediately afterwards. It was habit, speaking like this to Naruto, but he had no right to talk about having it bad. A couple of months of pain for a surgery that saved his life were nothing compared to months, maybe even years on the streets with what seemed like no hope of improvement. But he couldn't say anything – not without knowing anything. "Naruto, just what happened to you? I can't – I don't understand. Can you tell me?"

Naruto's expression darkened, and he broke eye contact to stare at their feet. He said nothing, but shifted a little, then wiggled his toes. Sasuke felt a jolt of recollection, and before he knew it his toes were wiggling back, pressing against Naruto's, and it was so much like his youth that for the briefest of moments he felt sixteen again. But then he blinked and he was back, in his mid-twenties, and Naruto's feet were sliding out and his ankles bumped against Sasuke's and it all seemed like it was in the wrong place, the wrong time.

"Naruto," Sasuke murmured, as Naruto leaned forward. "Naruto, tell me, please."

But Naruto wasn't listening; he was on his knees now, Sasuke's feet between them, and his face was nearing Sasuke's and Sasuke immediately, instinctively, and absolutely willingly reached out to caress Naruto's scarred cheeks. It wasn't wrong or uncomfortable – even when his fingers made contact with weathered, tanned skin the difference couldn't deter him – but it seemed out of place all the same, like he was in a different body, or Naruto was. The mentality was the same: he wanted no more than to be near Naruto, never mind love or kissing or sex or anything; he just felt that same need he'd felt years ago. His body went through the same movements, his hand sliding down Naruto's neck to his shoulder, down his arm, around his waist, pulling him into a hug so that Naruto was sitting in Sasuke's lap and their torsos were pressed against each other and Naruto's hair brushed against his cheek. And Naruto reciprocated in the same way, fingertips pressing so gently against his back, legs circling around Sasuke's waist, not moving at all yet filling Sasuke with Naruto's presence.

But there were so many differences as well. Naruto's ribs dug into Sasuke differently now, more prominent. Sasuke's chin fit into the crook of Naruto's neck in a way he'd never managed before. Their bodies had changed in nearly a decade. And now Sasuke and Naruto had grown apart, and Sasuke knew nothing about Naruto who, just by holding him, Sasuke could tell was not coping anywhere near as well as his attitude suggested. Just by holding him, Sasuke felt the weariness in Naruto's posture, the uncertainty in his grasp, the hardships he'd gone through. There was a faint tremor in Naruto's muscles, and Sasuke knew at once that the optimism was a huge lie, a beautiful mask that had initially worked so well because Naruto still remembered what it was like to be that person – but he just wasn't anymore. He was wearing an old skin, and it was fading away and Naruto was shaking now against Sasuke, sobs racking his body, arms clutching tighter and tighter. And all Sasuke could do was hold him in return, rock him gently, whisper into his ear, and wonder if, really, anything had been okay for Naruto in a long, long time.

* * *

So, as I said, I really don't know where I'm going with this story. I'd like for it to be a sort of author-reader collaboration, as it were. What do you think should happen? What do you think _has_ happened in Sasuke and Naruto's past? Drop me a review. I'll try to incorporate as many ideas as possible, and I'll be sure to credit everyone where credit is due. :)

Part of the reason I'm uploading this is because I'd like feedback in terms of the plot. Another reason is because I forgot to mention in the last update of Two Face that I likely won't be updating this Saturday, as I'll be on vacation in Egypt for a week and I don't know if I'll have internet. I'll try my best to get the chapter up, but no promises. If I don't have internet, I'll update as soon as I get back… although I don't know exactly when that is. So until next time, have a great week or two weeks or holiday or whatever, and I'll see you soon!

R+F


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